Vibrant With Love
by Angst Splatter
Summary: As judged by Cho's grief after Cedric died, it can be assumed the two had a fantastic relationship. Let's take a look at three moment's in time as proof, shall we? Lost homework, time with Amos, and a fight, and through it all, their love survived.


Another challenge. Measuring moments. The moments I got: lost homework, time with a father, and a fight. I hope I do it justice. Also, I have the two together before the first task, even, so I stray a bit from canon in that respect, but I liked the idea of incorporating a task with a moment, even if just for timeframe.

Disclaimer: When I'll willingly eat liver it will mean I own anything. But I won't willingly eat liver, and I own nothing. Even if the two have nothing to do with each other…

~HP~

"Cedric, it's not here!" Cho's panicky, high pitched voice flew across the courtyard. The Ravenclaw girl was busy tearing her backpack apart, looking for her lost charms homework.

Cedric gave a lopsided grin. "Apparently, I'm going to have to fight a dragon, and you're worried about lost homework?" he teased her. "Great priorities."

Cho looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh, Ced. I'm sorry! It's just – I –"

Cedric laughed. Cho thought it was the most musical sound she had ever heard. "I'm just kidding. I know. I understand. Are you sure it's not in your common room? Or dorm?"

Cho ran a shaky hand through her smooth, black hair. "Well, I don't know. I suppose I could check."

"That would probably be a good thing to do before bringing a heart attack upon yourself." Cho tilted her head to the left. Cedric found that adorable. "It's something I read in a book once."

"Ah," she murmured, knowingly. "I'm going to check my common room and dorm, then."

"I'll wait here for you." Cho gave a thankful grin to the handsome Hufflepuff. "Oh, you're so sweet." She gave him a peck on her cheek, enjoying having to stand up on her tiptoes to do it.

Then she whirled around and started to fly in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower. The fifth year Ravenclaw's charms lesson started in ten minutes, after all. A strong hand caught her instead, lightly gripping her slim wrist and confidently turned her around, ending up doing a spin into Cedric, whose body heat captivated her.

"Where did you learn to do that?" she whispered, amazed at his nimble grace.

He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, crushingly hard. He drew back a little, but she brought up her hands up to the back of his head to control its movement and lifted herself up to kept the kiss going. She furiously shoved her tongue in his mouth as he did the same. They stood like that for what seemed to Cho to be a Heavenly amount of forever. Finally they drew apart. Cho could feel her hair sticking up a bit in the back, and Cedric couldn't help the maniac grin that took over his features, nor the wild look in his eyes.

"I think I love you, Cho Chang. Barely paying attention to me, getting shaky over lost homework, spending most of your time preparing for O.W.L.'s as I prepare for something completely different…and yet you still catch my eye wherever you are, and worm your way into my every thought… If this isn't love, it's a bleedin' crime."

Cho was overcome with emotion. "Oh, Cedric.. I _know_ I love you."

And then they were kissing again. Six minutes later Cho came flying into Professor Flitwick's classroom just in time. And for the first time in her life she didn't have her homework. Her head of house let her turn it in later, but Cho was so elated over Cedric that she honestly did care. She almost didn't even turn it in later, shocking her house and year mates to no end. But not Cedric. When he caught her eye at dinner he gave her a look that said, "I understand." Cho had no doubt. They loved each other, after all. What did anything else matter, now?

~HP~

"Cedric, m'boy! You look dashing with that charming lady hanging off your arm," Amos Diggory proudly declared.

"Dad!" Cedric immediately stopped whispered sweet nothing's into the still damp Cho's ear.

"Hello, Mr. Diggory," Cho announced pleasantly. She flashed the man a grin. "First place, isn't it wonderful!"

"Yes, yes, it is. Congratulations Ced! I knew you could do it. Raised you myself. Tied for first place," he said with a bit of wonder. "But we all know what place you'll end up in. You've already beaten Harry Potter once, should be easy as a pasty this second time," Amos beamed.

"Yeah, sure dad. Thanks," Cedric muttered shyly, stretching and placing a comforting arm around Cho, making sure she wasn't cold or anything, also drawing a bit of confidence from her presence, in the process.

Amos delighted in this. He beamed at the couple. "A treasure indeed. I expect you to come visit us this summer, you know. You're welcome anytime! Anybody my son would consider treasure enough to rescue from the depths of this here lake is welcome any time. Our home is your home, as the saying goes," Cedric's father happily babbled on, completely oblivious to the embarrassment he was causing his son.

Cho just giggled. "Of course, sir. I wouldn't dare say no," she remarked, quite seriously, causing Amos to split into another grin.

"Now, just the third task to worry about, eh, son? No worries, though. I know you're going to win this! I've known it from the start. Your mother doubted me, but I knew. I knew. My boy. The Triwizard Champion! Imagine. Not that I'll have to imagine soon enough. Isn't that right, Cedric?" Amos Diggory's eye twinkled heartily as he patted his son on the back, winking.

"Yeah, sure dad. I hope that's what happens."

"Hope? Ha! I know it's going to happen. You mark my words."

"I know it's going to happen, too, Ced."

"Oh, well, okay then," Cedric melted as his father roared with laughter.

"My, my. I see how it is. Choosing to trust this young lady's word over mine," Amos teased.

"Dad!" Cedric had the good sense to look scandalized as his father chuckled.

Maybe realizing his son wanted time alone with his girlfriend, and knowing he would find him later, Amos caught sight of someone he knew in the crowd milling around and shouted towards them. "I'll catch up some more with you later, Ced. I'm so proud of you!" And with that he was walking amiably with someone else.

Cedric grinned and shared a look with Cho, pleased with how composed she had stayed with his dad. "Nice man, your father." Cedric's grin widened as he caught her lips in a short, but passionate kiss.

"Whatever you say, love. Whatever you say."

~HP~

"Cedric! You have the nerve to tell me you love me and I find you looking at Marietta. Marietta – my best friend! How dare you," Cho raged. Her face was pinched in anger and all Cedric could think about was how beautiful she looked. "Well, aren't you going to say anything for yourself?" she threw her hands in the air, exasperated.

Cedric jumped back into reality. "I wasn't looking at her because of that."

"Oh yeah?"

"Would I lie to you?" he looked slightly hurt and very offended.

"I don't know," Cho said stonily. "I thought you loved me, but apparently…"

"Cho!" Anger overcame Cedric's face. "Why would you doubt me like that? I was just looking at Marietta because she was the one speaking at the time. I really only have eyes for you. If you don't know that by now… Then I must have been a terrible boyfriend."

The truth was, the stress was too much for both of them. Cho had her O.W.L.'s coming up and Cedric the third task, which he still didn't know what it was. Cho wanted to spend all of her time studying. That would have been okay with Cedric if he knew what he should be practicing and shaping up on. But he didn't know yet – though he would in two night's time, thank Merlin – and he was restless because of it. Their time together was suffering a heavy loss. The time they did have together they weren't really together. Cho had books with her, muttering spells under her breath every once in a while, as Cedric would pace the grass, also going over all the spells he knew. The stress had finally caught up with their relationship, unfortunately.

"Oh, don't you turn this around like that," Cho huffed.

"What? On me? Isn't that where _you_ pushed it?" he asked, indignant and a bit confused.

"No. Well, yes! But not like that. Don't do that thing where you try and get me to feel sorry for you by being the martyr. I just want a straight answer. Why were you looking at my best friend?"

"I'm not being a martyr. I'm being honest! And I already answered your question. But if you're too stupid to remember that –"

"Don't you _dare_ call me stupid, you prat!"

"Then don't act like it!"

People in the yard had given up all pretenses of not noticing the arguing couple, and were now blatantly staring at Cedric and Cho, mouths agape. Since around the first task the two had become practically inseparable and had never once argued. And now, shouting at each other in public…

"I didn't! You are!"

"Arg! I can't do this right now, Cho." Cedric's hands flew up to comb through this hair, resting there, as he hid his face in his elbows.

"Then don't. I don't care," Cho swiftly replied, quickly gathering up her supplies with a flick of her wand, and flouncing away, doing her best to ignore the stares of surprise that followed her.

"That's not what I meant, Cho!" Cedric shouted after his girlfriend, but to no avail. As if suddenly noticing the stares all directed at him, Cedric blushed a deep crimson and hurried off in the same direction Cho had gone.

He caught her right outside the Great Hall. "Cho," he commanded, grabbing her shoulder to turn her around. "I just meant –"

"I know what you meant," she snarled, and he saw the tears which had already started to turn into sobs.

"No, Cho. I just meant that you're stressed over your O.W.L.'s and I'm stressed over the Tournament. Too much is going on –"

"Well, if we can't be together when 'too much is going on' maybe we shouldn't be together."

Cedric's heart plummeted, as did his face. "You don't mean that, Cho."

"We'll see," she said, quietly, dejectedly. And then she scurried away before they could make yet another scene, leaving him standing there, fighting back tears himself, and shoulders shaking.

Cho caught him six hours before he was supposed to go down and learn what the third task was. "I'm sorry," she said, standing tall over Cedric, who was sitting in the shade of a big oak.

"Sorry for what?" he asked warily, worrying she was breaking up with him, almost not even wanting to know the answer.

"For shouting at you. Calling you a bad boyfriend. Insinuating you were unfaithful. Thinking you were stupid and calling you a prat." She swallowed ashamedly. "For making you think that we were breaking up and torturing you for more than a day by not telling you this sooner."

Cedric looked ecstatic. "You mean it? We're not breaking up?"

"Never," Cho choked out, stumbling over persistent tears of shame.

She needn't have worried, though. Cedric had never been angry with her, just torn apart over thinking he was going to lose her. He told her so by sweeping her off her feet and snogging her like he had never snogged before. That night they both lost their virginity, wanting to do something significant to celebrate surviving their first fight.

It wasn't too long after that day that Cedric was off for the third and final task of the Tournament. Cho wished him luck by kissing him so passionately that he went weak at the knees and barely managed to wobble onto the pitch to meet with the other Champions. He caught her eyes before entering the maze. They mouthed "I love you" to each other and then Cedric was gone from her view. What seemed like a short time later and Cedric was forever gone from her life, tearing her world in half.

Cho had thought she'd never get over her first love. When she was thirty one a Muggle man she had been seeing finally proposed to her, and she had accepted, hiding her tears from her fiancé under claims of happiness instead of grief. What her parents took as a good sign of her finally getting on with her life, wasn't. She never told them her real reason for dating – and later marrying – the Muggle was because she needed someone to attempt to fill the hole that she had been left with when Cedric died. She sometimes wondered that if Harry had just talked about it with her if she could have eventually moved on, but since that hadn't happened, she married the Muggle. Someone who loved her. Someone who wasn't magic. Someone who wasn't Cedric in any way.

She thought it would help her get past her grief. It never did.

~HP~

Well, that turned out sadder than I meant for it to. I hope you enjoy it all the same, though!


End file.
